September 13, 2019
In the fresh wind
The first races took place at the Russian Championship in the SB20 class on Thursday. The conditions for their holding were excellent. In the morning, in the waters in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, a steady and strong south-west wind blew at a speed of more than 15 knots, reaching 20 knots in gusts.
There were fears that he would inflate even more, and later starts would have to be postponed, but nothing happened. By 16 o’clock the race program of the day was fully completed, and the riders headed to the regatta camp – to prepare for the festive opening ceremony of the championship, scheduled for the evening.
The very first start (and as it turned out later, and the start of the second race – too) had to be repeated twice. Many riders were too quick to cross the line, and a general recall was signaled from the referee ship. But at the finish line with determining the winner there were no more questions: with a good margin from the rivals (almost a minute!) The yachtsmen from the team of Vadim Pushev (RUS 3730) finished the race. Athletes from the B-team (RUS 3712) finished second, Alexey Semenov (RUS 3711) brought his boat to the finish line the third.
The next race (which, as already noted, also started quite nervously) was already headed by the B-team. Despite the fact that the team of Daniel Banayan (RUS 3656) forced the rivalry on her, Alexey Lesnikov passed the control marks first. He was a little ahead of his pursuers and at the finish. Flow Sailing Team was content with the second place, and this time the boat with the number RUS 3327 on the sail crossed the third finish line this time – Vasily Grigoryev recorded three points at his own expense.
The wind conditions in the open part of the water area where the distance was established all the time remained the same: the south-west wind of up to 20 knots did not question the possibility of racing. The best teams went the distance in 35-40 minutes.
However, at the end of the third race, the first incident occurred, most likely due to weather conditions. Already at the very referee ship RUS 3269 lay in broaching and passed the finish line. As it turned out later, at that moment the steering wheel broke on the boat. The team of Rashid Bikkenin was forced to go to the shore. And the victory in this race was again celebrated by the B-team. RUS 3511 (Sergey Musikhin) and RUS 3711 (Alexei Semenov) fought for the second place for a long time. As a result, luck smiled at the New Territories team, and athletes from Yekaterinburg finished third.
In the final race of the day, the crew of Daniil Banayan was the leader and eventually won a well-deserved victory. Vadim Pushev came second, Vasily Grigoriev once again turned out to be the third.
Alexey Lesnikov (steering RUS 3712, B-team):
– Are we ready for the fact that we will become leaders after the first race day? Partially. We performed quite successfully this season and today also tried, although our opponents are strong. True, this year we did not train so much in such a strong wind, so there were certain difficulties. But we will do our best to win. We regard this regatta as preparation for the World Cup. Moreover, they promise the same wind there.
Vadim Pushev (RUS 3730, Victoria team):
– The barrel is fine today! True, we thought it would be even stronger. In any case, so the forecast promised. But it became stronger only after three hours. This is not to say that this is “our” weather – we are short of weight. However, there are 1st and 2nd parishes. Although it was hard. Boats that drive at maximum weight have an advantage. Especially on tack. It’s too early to say who our main rivals are: many crews have added a lot. But there are also traditional ones – the B-team, the teams of Alexei Semenov and Vasily Grigoriev. Would we like to win the championship? Such a task is always there!
Alexey Semenov (RUS 3711, New Territories):
– During the championship of St. Petersburg there was little wind, but now it is enough for everyone. Chasing today was very interesting. The fleet has grown in recent years, with more top crews. Strong guys arrived from Moscow. And the day, in my opinion, was a success. There were enough forces for four races, but we had problems associated with weight loss. This can explain our seventh arrival in the second race. 36 kilograms is a serious shortage. Third place after the first race day is good for us, given that I am on the steering wheel relatively recently.
Results of the Russian Championship 2019 after the first day:
1. RUS 3712 (steering Alexei Lesnikov) – 9 points
2. RUS 3730 (Vadim Pushev) – 13
3. RUS 3711 (Alexey Semenov) – 16
4. RUS 3656 (Daniil Banayan) – 20
5. RUS 3327 (Vasily Grigoriev) – 20
6. RUS 3468 (Alexey Bolyakin) – 20
134 September 13, 2019 # 9464
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